1997 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 325-329
This paper describes a patient with angiosarcoma of the breast administered interleukin-2 (IL-2) as an adjuvant therapy.
A 24-year-old woman was seen at the hospital because of an enlarging mass of the left breast during these 2 months, for which she first noticed about 5 months before. The left breast tumor was 10cm in size, oval in shape, and elastic hard. On palpation and mammography, a phyllodes tumor was suspected and an extirpation of the tumor was carried out. Histologically it was highly malignant angiosarcoma. The patient received an adjuvant therapy (Interleukin-2, 800 thousands JRU/day×4 weeks), but local recurrence and metastasis to the contralateral breast occurred 3 months after the operation. A left simple mastectomy and right quadrantectomy were performed, followed by IL-2 regimen. About 6 months later, exicisional biopsies were performed for each of recurrent lumps in head skin, right and left breasts. IL-2 regimen was also added. The postoperative course was uneventful, and there has been no sign of recurrence up to now.
Angiosarcoma of the breast has been reported in only 19 cases including this case in the Japanese literature.
